Awning assembly



' July 29, 1958 N. M. YACOSTA 2,844,351 I AWNING. ASSEMBLY Filed Dec.- 26, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 53 Fl 6. E0

INVENTQR NARCASSL M. ACOSTA ATTORNEYS July 29, 1958 N. M. ACOSTA ,844,

AWNING ASSEMBLY Filed D80. 26, 1951 v 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 36 I Fic.6.

INVENTOR NARCISSE M.ACOSTA BY an? #M rm ATTORNEYS July 29, 1958 N. M, cos 2,844,851.

AWNING ASSEMBLY 4 sheets-sheet 3 Filed Dec. 26, 1951 INVENTOR NARCISSE MAcosTA [3420b BY 7 ATTORNEYS July 29, 1958 N. M. Acos'rA AWNING ASSEMBLY Filed Dec. 2 6, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR NARCISSE, M,ACOSTA ATTORNEYS United States Patent ice AWNING ASSEMBLY Narcisse M. Acosta, Kenner, La.

Application December 26, 1951, Serial No. 263,298

13 Claims. (Cl. 2057.5)

My invention relates to metal awnings assembled primarily by means of clips which positively lock the individual component parts of the awning together. Awnings fastened together by means of clips may be much more rapidly and cheaply assembled than those requiring a large number of bolts, but the clips heretoforein use have not positively locked the various elements of the awning structure in place,'and the awnings have tended to come apart due to slipping of the clips when the awnings are subjected to vibration and heavy winds.

A preferred embodiment of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation showing my new awning;

Fig; 2 is a side elevation of my awning;

Fig. 3 is a partial elevation of the vertical apron of the awning as seen from the inside, with a portion of the cover broken away;

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the elements shown in Figure 3;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the pans of the apron;

Fig. 6 is a partial plan view taken at the top of the awning, with a portion of one pan and one cover broken away to show the attaching clip;

Fig. 7 is a vertical cross-section taken along the line 7-7 of Figure 6;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the attachment of the pans and covers to the flashing;

Fig. 9 is a vertical cross-section taken along the line 9-9 of Figure 1;

Fig. 10 is a perspective view showing the clip attached to a cross member;

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the arrangement of the frame members;

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary vertical cross-section taken along the line 12-12 of Figure 9;

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary horizontal cross-section taken along the line 1313 of Figure 12; and

Fig. 14 is a perspective view showing the side pans and covers disassembled from the associated side rafter.

Like reference numerals denote like parts throughout the several views. I

- 'As illustrated in the accompanying drawings, a representative awning constructed according to my invention is assembled on a base frame comprising two parallel side rafters 20, adapted to be screwed or otherwise attached to a wall 21 at their upper ends in such a position that they slope downwardly and outwardly from the wall. The side rafters are spaced apart by two channelshaped horizontal cross-members 22, parallel to the wall. These cross members are fixed at their ends tothe side rafters 20, and two similar side frame members 23, fixed to the lower ends of the side rafters 20 extend horizontally inward therefrom and are adapted to be screwed or otherwise attached to the wall at their inner ends.

It will be noted that the channel-shaped cross members 22 are fixed at their bottoms to the inwardly extending flanges 24 on the side rafters 20. The sides of these channels members 22 are resilient and carry at their upper I extremities outwardly turned flanges 25.

Pans 26 are laid on the cross members 22, parallel to the side rafters 20. These pans have flat bottoms 27 and upwardly extending sides 28 terminating in inwardly disposed flanges 29. Clips 30 are mounted on these flanges by catching the depending reversed lips 31 of the clips over the flanges 25. This is done by squeezing in the sides of the cross-members 22 to bring the outer edges of the flanges 25 within the span between the inner tips of the reversed lips 31, and then releasing these flanges 25 into the channels formed by the reversed lips. Resilient clip arms 32 extend longitudinally of the cross members and laterally of the pans 26, over the sides 28 of the pans, to'

hold them in place. Covers 33, made exactly like the pans 26, but positioned with their sides 34 extending downwardly instead of upwardly, may then be pressed downward over the resilient arms 32 of the clip, the tips of these resilient arms catching on the flanges 35 of the covers 33 after the covers have been pressed fully down.

The sides of the pans 26 do not extend all the way to the top of the awning but terminate sufliciently short of the wall to permit a flashing 36 to be bolted to the upper side of the bottoms of the pans at their wall ends. This flashing is screwed to the wall, and may be supplied with suitable sealing means 37. Upturned flanges 38 at the lower edge of the flashing serve to prevent water from flowing down beneath the covers 33, as best shown in Figure 8, and the bent ends 39 of these flanges are bent by means of the tabs 40 of the pans, which are bent inwardly from the bottoms of the pans to contact the sides of the covers and catch over the flanges 35 thereon, as seen in Figures 4 and 5.

The assembly of the side members is best understood from the perspective view shown in Figure 14 and the partial cross-section in Figure 12.

The sides of the awnings are composed of pans 41 and covers 42 made like the pans and covers of the top, except for the fact that the bottoms 43 and 44 of these pans and covers terminate at their upper ends in diagonally disposed flanges 45 extending transversely away from theplanes of the bottoms in a direction opposite to that of the sides. These flanges fit slidingly into the channels 46 of the side rafters. The side pans and covers are clipped near their bottoms to the side cross members 23 by clips 30, just as the top pans and covers are clipped to the cross members 22. Each edge pan 48 of the top section is made with one hooked edge 49 adapted to catch over the outer channel of the side rafter 20, as best shown in Figure 12. In actual practice the sides are assembled first so that when the edge pans 48 of the top section are slipped over the outer channels of the side rafters, the lower or apron segments of the pans 48 help to lock in the side pans and covers by blocking them from sliding out of the lower ends of the channels in the side rafters. Any updraft will be prevented from lifting the covers from the clips by the fishhook action of the clip arms. The pans are securely held beneath both the clip arms and the sides of the covers and the clips cannot be loosened from the channel-shaped cross members without actual compression of the sides of the channels and there is no normal action of storm or wind which exerts a force of that type. The result is a completely locked structure, highly resistant to stress and storm, yet one which can be assembled at least as quickly and easily as any of the Patented July 29, 1958v 3 prior art'clip-type structures which are subject to slipping under strain.

Ventilation is provided by openings 50 in side pans '41, which permit circulation of air beneath the awning.

It will be appreciated that my invention of a positively locked clip type metal awning assembly is'basicly new and the particular embodiment which I have described .18 merely illustrative of one of many possible structures in the assembly of which my invention can be used.

What I claim is:

1. A metallic awning assembly comprising at least one channel shaped main cross member having a bottom, resilient sides and an outwardly projecting flange on each side, a plurality of channel shaped top pans disposed transversely of said cross member and having bottoms and parallel sides projecting upward from the bottoms, a plurality of channel shaped top covers having bottoms, downwardly projecting sides and a flange projecting inwardly from each side, said covers being positioned above, parallel to and overlapping the adjacent sides of each pair of pans, and-a clip carried on the cross members between each pair of pans, said clip having an arm projecting overthe adjacent side of each pan and seated on the inwardly projecting flange of the'cooperating cover, together with two oppositely disposed hooks each receiving one 'of the flanges of the cross member, said hooks being so spaced as to permit said flanges to be moved laterally into or out of said hooks only by compressing the resilient sides of the cross member to deform it from its normal-configuration.

2. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which the arms of the clip are resilient.

3. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 having a special edge pan at'at least one side of the awning which carries a dependinghook instead of a side along the outside edge, and in which a side rafter is seated in said hook.

4. An assembly as claimed in claim 3 in which said side rafter has two narrow'inwardly opening channels facing each other and the exterior of one of these channels is seated in the hook of said outermost pan.

5. An assembly as claimed in claim 4 in which said awning comprises also a plurality of substantially vertical side pans and covers and the uppermost ends of these side pans and covers carry outwardly projecting flanges seated in the channels of said side rafters.

6. An assembly as claimed in claim 5 having at least one side cross member having the same configuration as and lying in a plane substantially perpendicular to the main cross member and additional clips attaching said side pans and covers to said side cross member in the same manner as that in which said top pans and covers are attached to said main cross member.

7. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which said pans and covers slope upwardly and the sides of the pans terminate short of their upper ends, the bottoms of the pans being attached to a transverse flashing.

8. An assembly as claimed in claim 7 in which said flashing carries an upturned flange along that portion of its lower edge adjacent the covers to prevent draining of water beneath said covers.

9. An assembly as claimed in claim 8 in which said flashing flanges extend past both sides of each pair of pans and then turn down along the side of the covers to engage the flanges thereon, thereby retaining said covers in place.

10. An awning assembly having a top comprising longitudinally sloping overlapping pans and covers, cross members supporting said pans and covers, and clips locking them to said cross members, those pans at the sides of the top having downwardly bent hooks defining elongated slots along their outer edges, and side rafters seated in said slots, said side rafter having two narrow inwardly opening channels facing each other and the exterior of one of these channels being seated in the book of said outermost pan.

11. An assembly as claimed in claim 10 in which said awning comprises also a plurality of substantially vertical side pans and covers and the uppermost ends of these side pans and covers carry outwardly projecting flanges seated in the channels of said side rafters.

12. In a metallic awning assembly of the type comprising a longitudinally rigid cross-member, a plurality of channel-shaped pans disposed transversely on said cross-member and having bottoms and parallel sides projecting upwardly from said bottoms, and a plurality of channel-shaped covers having bottoms, downwardly projecting sides, and a flange projecting inwardly from each side, said covers being positioned above, parallel to and overlapping the adjacent sides of each pair of pans, the combination in which said longtudinally rigid cross-member consists of a channel-shaped element having upwardly projecting resilient sidewalls and outwardly projecting flanges along the free edges of said side-walls and said pans, covers, and cross member are held together by a clip, said clip having a flat portion adapted to lie along the top of said cross member and serve as a spacer between a pair of pans, oppositely disposed curved arms adapted to project up and over the adjacent side of each adjacent pan and seat on the inwardly projecting flange of the cooperating cover, together with two oppositely disposed depending hooks transversely positioned with respect to said arms, each adapted to receive one of the flanges of the cross-member, said hooks being so spaced as to permit said cross-member flanges to be moved laterally into or out of said hooks only by compressing the resilient sides of the cross member to deform it from its normal configuration.

13. A clip for holding together a metallic awning as sembly of the type comprising at least one channel shaped main cross member having a bottom, resilient sides and an outwardly projecting flange on each side, a plurality of channel shaped top pans disposed transversely of said cross member and having bottoms and parallel sides projecting upward from the bottoms, and a plurality of channel shaped top covers having bottoms, downwardly projecting sides and a' flange projecting inwardly from each side, said covers being positioned above, parallel to and overlapping the adjacent sides of each pair of pans, said clip being adapted to lie on the cross members between a pair of pans, and having oppositely disposed curved arms adapted to project over the adjacent side of each adjacent pan and seat on the inwardly projecting flange of the cooperating cover, together with two oppositely disposed depending hooks transversely positioned with respect to said arms, each adapted to receive one of the flanges of the cross member, said hooks being so spaced as to permit said flanges to be moved laterally into or out of said hooks only by compressing the resilient sides of the cross member to deform it from its normal configuration.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,123,366 Kehr et al. July 12, 1938 2,137,536 McConnell Nov. 22, 1938 2,542,919 Freeman Feb. 20, 1951 2,572,363 Mayer et al. Oct. 23, 1951 2,641,032 Freeman June 9, 1953 2,652,604 Corkrean Sept. 22, 1953 

